I know to many of you upon reading the phase "Panama City Beach" immediately think "eeeeewwww!" But try putting that aside for just a moment and read on.
I've come across an interesting article from Clearwater Beach (Florida)--that I'll link below. I found it interesting how the current situation at Clearwater mirrors PCB. Clearwater is mulling over the economic fallout its city may experience from the real estate boom over the next several years. Key among them is the razing of multiple "mom & pop" hotels and businesses to be replaced by "upscale" condos and shops--many of which have never come to fruition.
From its beginning, Clearwater, like PCB, was a beach vacation area for blue collar workers and their families--with all the "stigma" of such attached. Now both beach towns, in an effort to transform into "upscale" vacation locales, have wiped out reasonably-priced accommodations and attractions. Problem is, the condo boom has gone bust leaving Clearwater in limbo...it's no longer welcoming to the folks who made it a vibrant family tourist destination, and, because of it's "low-brow" stigma (that "eeeewwwwww" you're thinking) and many half-baked "upscale" projects, it will not attract the "well-heeled and wealthy" target audience it set out to attract when it originally put the plans on paper.
Will Clearwater and PCB end up in "tourist limbo?" What will the first summer after the boom (2007) hold in store economically for PCB?
Clearwater Beach Article
I've come across an interesting article from Clearwater Beach (Florida)--that I'll link below. I found it interesting how the current situation at Clearwater mirrors PCB. Clearwater is mulling over the economic fallout its city may experience from the real estate boom over the next several years. Key among them is the razing of multiple "mom & pop" hotels and businesses to be replaced by "upscale" condos and shops--many of which have never come to fruition.
From its beginning, Clearwater, like PCB, was a beach vacation area for blue collar workers and their families--with all the "stigma" of such attached. Now both beach towns, in an effort to transform into "upscale" vacation locales, have wiped out reasonably-priced accommodations and attractions. Problem is, the condo boom has gone bust leaving Clearwater in limbo...it's no longer welcoming to the folks who made it a vibrant family tourist destination, and, because of it's "low-brow" stigma (that "eeeewwwwww" you're thinking) and many half-baked "upscale" projects, it will not attract the "well-heeled and wealthy" target audience it set out to attract when it originally put the plans on paper.
Will Clearwater and PCB end up in "tourist limbo?" What will the first summer after the boom (2007) hold in store economically for PCB?
Clearwater Beach Article